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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at YOUNG WOMEN'S STEAM ACADEMY AT BALCH SPRINGS MIDDL?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
751
Middle
DISTRICT 551 · STATE 643
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DALLAS ISD·NCES 481623012835
Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl
710 CHEYENNE RD, BALCH SPRINGS, TX 75180 · (972) 892-5800 · Dallas County
GRADES 06–09MIDDLE21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL751 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 60% of Texas public middle schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- C-Three-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Texas public middle schools
Student : Teacher
15.3:1
49 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.0:1 · STATE 14.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
96%
720 students
DISTRICT 89% · STATE 65%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 243 | 32% |
| Grade 7 | 242 | 32% |
| Grade 8 | 237 | 32% |
| Grade 9 | 29 | 4% |
Student demographics
28%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 45% · STATE 63% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl→H Grady Spruce High School
Feeds from
Based on published attendance-zone data from DALLAS ISD. Zones change; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
STAAR 2025-26 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
56.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +23.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
54.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +20.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 56 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 54 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 23 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 20 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 29.0% | 27.0% | 23.0% | 21.0% |
| Mathematics | 23.0% | 31.0% | 26.0% | 20.0% |
Share of tested students at each STAAR level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
STAAR results by year
| School year | Reading | Mathematics |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 56.0% | 54.0% |
| 2024-25 | 55.0% | 44.0% |
| 2023-24 | 52.0% | 49.0% |
| 2022-23 | 51.0% | 54.0% |
| 2021-22 | 47.0% | 51.0% |
| 2020-21 | 33.0% | 34.0% |
% Meets Grade Level or Above, all students and all tested grades.
Source: STAAR. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
42.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
32.8%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+9.4pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 42% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 33% typical for Texas schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Texas's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl
Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl's state test result (42.2% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl this school | 751 | 95.9% | 42.2% |
| W H Gaston Middle School DALLAS | 757 | 94.7% | 39.4% |
| William James Middle School FORT WORTH | 710 | 94.9% | 11.3% |
| Ortiz Middle School HOUSTON | 772 | 95.1% | 37.0% |
| Carter Junior High School ARLINGTON | 735 | 92.8% | 19.0% |
| Piedmont Global Academy DALLAS | 692 | 98.6% | 35.1% |
Matched among Texas middle schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Dallas County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 42.2% | #832 of 1,635 | #31 of 118 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 54.0% | #429 of 1,670 ▲ 285 | #23 of 123 ▲ 15 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 56.0% | #723 of 1,670 ▲ 15 | #33 of 123 ▲ 3 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +2.5pp | #1,226 of 1,570 | #80 of 121 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 751 | #661 of 1,749 | #47 of 126 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.3:1 | #942 of 1,542 | #74 of 123 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 27.8% | #1,235 of 1,543 | #102 of 123 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 95.9% | #91 of 1,648 | #22 of 121 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -38.8% | #55 of 942 | #9 of 80 |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
751
-384 (-34%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
15.3:1
was 15.6:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 751 | 49 | 15.3:1 | 96% (720) |
| 2023-24 | 769 | 54 | 14.2:1 | 94% (723) |
| 2022-23 | 869 | 64 | 13.6:1 | 91% (789) |
| 2020-21 | 1,135 | 73 | 15.6:1 | 90% (1,026) |
| 2017-18 | 1,227 | 76 | 16.1:1 | 92% (1,123) |
| 2015-16 | 1,397 | 85 | 16.4:1 | 99% (1,380) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl.
Since 2017-18: students down 39% (1,227 to 751); teachers down 36% (76 to 49).
About Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl
BALCH SPRINGS, Texas, is home to Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl, a medium-sized middle-grades school. Enrollment in 2024-25 was 751 students in grades 6 through 9.
DALLAS ISD enrolls 140,630 students, and its 240 schools include Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl.
Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl's enrollment is 84% Hispanic. The school is also 12% Black and 2% White. That is higher than the 41% Hispanic share among all Dallas County residents. The school's diversity index is 28%, meaning two students picked at random have a 28% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Federal staffing data show 49 full-time-equivalent teachers at Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl and a ratio of 15.3:1. The school has more students per teacher than the 14.4:1 average for middle schools in Texas. The count of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch equals 96% of enrollment. Public schools in Dallas County average 77%.
allk12 grades Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl a B. The grade compares the school only with Texas public middle schools, because each state gives its own test.
Test results at Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl are 9.4 points above what its free or reduced-price lunch share predicts (42.2% actual, 32.8% predicted).
Within Dallas County, the median household income is $76,547, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 36%, and about 11% of people live in poverty. Besides Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl, Dallas County has 770 other public schools.
The closest public school, Gilbert Cuellar Sr Elementary School, is about 0.7 miles from Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. The average proficiency across nearby scored schools is 33.1%; Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl's is 42.2%, ranking 2nd of 8.
Federal records code the school's setting as Suburb: Large.
Enrollment at Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl declined 34% between 2020-21 and 2024-25, from 1,135 to 751 students.
Posts about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs are welcome on this page. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Dallas County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
2,621,179
Census ACS
Median income
$76,547
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
36%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
771
459,645 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in DALLAS ISD
- Skyline High SchoolHigh · 3,837 students
- Bryan Adams H S Leadership AcademyHigh · 2,208 students
- W T White High SchoolHigh · 2,204 students
- Sunset High SchoolHigh · 2,164 students
- Moises E Molina High SchoolHigh · 2,006 students
- Woodrow Wilson High SchoolHigh · 1,832 students
Other schools in BALCH SPRINGS
- KIPP Pleasant Grove Leadership AcademyHigh · 618 students
- Hodges Elementary SchoolElementary · 570 students
- Floyd Elementary SchoolElementary · 552 students
- Mackey Elementary SchoolElementary · 478 students
- Gray Elementary SchoolElementary · 409 students
Nearby schools
- Gilbert Cuellar Sr Elementary School0.7 mi · 715
- Texans Can Academy - Pleasant Grove0.8 mi · 529
- Floyd Elementary School0.8 mi · 552
- John W Runyon Elementary School1.1 mi · 417
- William M Anderson Elementary School1.1 mi · 573
- Young Men's Leadership Academy at Fred F Florence1.2 mi · 467
Frequently asked questions
About Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs MiddlWhat is the total enrollment at Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl?
Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl enrolls approximately 751 students in grades 06-09.
What age range does Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl serve?
Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl serves students from grade 06 through grade 09.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl is approximately 15.3:1 (49 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl?
At Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl, the student body is approximately 2% White, 84% Hispanic, 12% Black, 0% Asian, 1% Two or more.
Who oversees Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl?
Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl is overseen by DALLAS ISD in Dallas County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.